A musical remake of the movie "Footloose" is in the works and will be directed by Kenny Ortega (High School Musical). Chace Crawford from the CW's Gossip Girl has been cast in the role of Ren, the role originated by Kevin Bacon, and turned down by Zac Efron. Variety now reports that Julianne Hough of Dancing with the Stars fame will be playing Ariel, which was originated by Lori Singer. I love Julianne from DWTS and more specifically from my days as a loyal and rabid Apolliane fan (Apolo Ohno & Julianne name combo from DWTS) but casting her as the rebellious preacher's daughter is a bit of a stretch. She radiates sweetness and light from every pore. Look at these two beautiful people. Forget Ren and Ariel, they should be playing Cinderella and Prince Charming.
The other two roles that it'll be interesting to see cast are John Lithgow's role of Reverend Shaw Moore and Chris Penn's lovable lunk Willard.
In all honesty, this is such an 80's classic that I think they should leave well-enough alone. You wouldn't remake Sixteen Candles, Pretty in Pink or the Breakfast Club, why do it for Footloose? This is yet another example of the fact that Hollywood can't seem to come up with many original ideas. With all that said, they've got my number, because come 2010 I'll be doling out my $10 bucks just to see how they've treated this old favorite.
